
DADDY" DICKENSON 



Character Sketch and 
Funeral Oration 




By 

EGAN 



i6 



DADDY" DICKENSON 

Character Sketch and 
Funeral Oration 




jLrvyL 



'J) 



By 

EGAN 



r(^6''^ 



Copyrighted 1916 
by 

GEO. W. EGAN 

All Rights Reserved 




©CI.A433439 



By Way of Introduction 



No apology is offered for the appearance of 
this booklet. While it is not claimed that it will 
add to the sum total of the world's literature, yet 
the purpose for its appearance — which is a worthy 
one — will be found in a perusal of its pages. I 
claim for it only the extemporaneous portrayal 
of the characteristics and attributes of one who 
had read deeply and understandingly of the 
book of life. "Daddy" Dickenson was the con- 
crete example of the eternal truth that, even in 
the highly commercialized present — when almost 
everything is measured by the dollar — yet when 
wc stop to think and take our bearings, it is the 
fundamental characteristics of faith, hope and 
charity personified in man which really count in 
the end. In the following pages I have en- 
deavored to present to the reader the one thought 
that, even in the present, it pays to adopt the di- 
vine injunction "Love thy neighbor as thyself," 
and weave it into the warp and woof of daily life, 
rather than to spend one's days chasing around 
after the silver dollar, and in worshipping at the 
shrine of the golden calf. "Daddy" Dickenson 
cared nothing for money; knew nothing of its 
value, in the dollar-maddened age in which we 
live. His thoughts and actions were altruistic; 
to behold the smiles of gratitude and appreciation 
on the faces of those whom he favored, was 
pay sufficient unto him. To put into permanent 
record form for preservation, and to call the 
reader's attention to these great, almost divine 
attributes — hence this booklet. Done in our na- 
tional colors, in honor of "Daddy's" patriotism, 
I send it forth to the hands of the thoughtful, 
intelligent reader with the hope that, in its pe- 
rusal, he may find some of the ennobling prin- 
ciples in the life of my departed friend worthy of 
emulation.— GEO. W. EGAN, A. M., LL. M. 



Dedication 



To my friends — the men and 
women of Sioux Falls who have 
always encouraged me by their 
support and friendship — ivhose 
loyalty has never wavered — 
tvhose faith has never been 
destroyed neither by the poison 
of religious bigotry nor the 
malice of political and profes- 
sional jealousy — to this dear and 
generous people — with gratitude 
and appreciation I respectfully 
dedicate the following pages. 
—EGAN. 




"DADDY" DICKF.NSON 

'Bereft of hat and clad in the workinfS ({arments 
of the Serhian peasant." (See paf(e eij^ht) 



"DADDY" DICKENSON 

A Character Sketch 




N eighteen hundred ninety Sioux 
Falls was a struggling little city of 
about eight thousand inhabitants. 
The town, imitating the spirit of 
the state at that time, was practi- 
cally at a standstill. Little build- 
ing was done and few permanent 
improvements were being made. 
The residence portion of the city was neglected 
and not well kept. While the business streets 
bore signs of considerable hustle and bustle, 
yet the whole town lacked evidence of per- 
manent future growth and prosperity. The 
streets were ungraded and soft and in rainy bad 
weather were almost impassable. Wliat little 
pavement there was, consisted of rough granite 
blocks difficult to travel over, and conducive only 
of profanity. 

Through a divorce colony the notoriety of the 
city had spread from ocean to ocean and from 
the Great Lakes to the Gulf. Hence both men 
and maidens who, dissatisfied with adventures 
upon the troublesome seas of matrimony, came 

Five 



"DADDY" DICKENSON CHAEACTER 

from afar to seek that relief so freely adminis- 
tered, in those days, by the courts of this state; 
succored and assisted as they were by certain 
greedy and grasping members of the Minnehaha 
County bar. In common with the spirit of the 
times, the city was run wide open. Drinking, 
gambling and carousing prevailed. There was 
nothing in the make-up of the town or its inhabi- 
tants to direct the mind of the average observer 
of the then Sioux Falls to the glorious and pros- 
perous future of this city as it is in nineteen 
hundred sixteen; with its large modern business 
blocks, builded and building; with acres of the 
most beautiful residential districts occupied with 
palatial homes bordering on broad, cool, splend- 
idly paved avenues, lined with innumerable large, 
spreading shade trees, until it might well be 
called the "beautiful city of the forest"; with all 
the natural advantages and conveniences; with 
schools, colleges and churches; with every part 
and portion of the city carefully groomed and 
well kept; with twenty- five thousand hustling, 
bustling, prosperous inhabitants, hurrying from 
day to day through the busy marts of trade until 
I aver without fear of successful contradiction 
that, judged from any viewpoint, Sioux Falls is 
today the most desirable home city in the United 
States. 

It is doubtless true that there were those in 
Sioux Falls in eighteen hundred ninety who fore- 
six 



SKETCH AND FUNERAL ORATION 

saw, with prophetic eye, our fascinating and 
beautiful city of nineteen hundred sixteen. Just 
as there are, no doubt, those within the city today 
wlio, looking into the future, can see the greater 
and grander Sioux Palls of nineteen hundred 
tliirty with its innumerable factories and manu- 
facturing establishments, packing plants, stock 
yards and modern industries of every kind and 
character; with fifty thousand inhabitants; with 
the city bordered and bounded on every side by 
its rich, fertile agricultural districts, with all 
lands within a radius of ten miles of the city 
limits selling for from three hundred to five 
hundred dollars per acre; while within the gates 
of the city, is industiy, happiness, peace, pros- 
perity evidenced by the smiles of contentment on 
the faces of its people. 

In eighteen hundred ninety, the time to which 
I particularly desire to call the reader's atten- 
tion, not many people were coming to Sioux Falls 
with a view of making it their permanent home. 
But there did, at that time, come to this city, one 
of the most unique characters that the middle 
west has ever knowTi ; a man of strong individual- 
ity and great personal charm. Such was this 
man's personal appearance and such the habits of 
his useful and busy life, that he would have com- 
manded instant attention anywhere; whether he 

Seven 



"DADDY" DICKENSON CHAEACTER 

appeared in the parlors of the elite, among the 
crowds on the busy thoroughfares, in the hustling 
marts of trade, or within the sacred temples of the 
living God. On meeting this man one instantly 
felt his being before opportunity was given to 
observe his doing. 

Although humble and of humble origin, without 
wealth or station, possessing the modesty of a 
maiden, — with a heart as tender as a woman's 
and a voice as sweet as the evening zephyr; al- 
ways a most courteous and obliging gentleman, 
he trod the earth with an unconscious pride as if 
in his veins there flowed the blood of kings, while 
his undaunted spirit, on the wings of hope, mount- 
ed to the eternal stars. Of rugged stature — lithe 
of limb, quick of movement; powerful in arms, 
neck and shoulders; head and face as perfectly 
moulded as any that ever left the trained hands 
of the most famous sculptor of ancient Greece; 
long flowing hair falling about his neck and 
shoulders; large, soft brown eyes that twinkled 
merrily, flashed and sparkled according to the 
emotions of his sympathetic soul; bereft of hat 
and clad in the working garments of the Serbian 
peasant ; hurrying, hustling, always working from 
early morning until late at night, yet ever stop- 
ping, here and there, rendering aid and comfort; 
with his soul attuned to that sweetest music of all 
the world — the voice of childhood; such was he 
in eighteen hundred ninety and such he was in all 

Eight 



SKETCH AND FUNERAL ORATION 

the twenty-six years that he lived in Sioux Falls — 
"Daddy" Dickenson — the friend of man — the 
most beloved and revered citizen that ever dwelt 
within the gates of this city. 

His education in books, because of lack of op- 
portunity, was limited indeed, but in knowledge 
of the hvunan heart, he was a master-scholar, and 
spoke its various language. From the schools of 
strife and struggle he was graduated with highest 
honors. He took post-graduate courses in the 
same institutions and received the degree of 
D. D. S. — not in the sense that those letters are 
interpreted by the lexicons of our colleges, but in 
the higher and more significant meaning — Do, 
Dare and Sacrifice — A degree which Marcus 
Aurelius never received, and a higher one than 
Aristotle conferred in his lyceum, or Plato issued 
from his academy. 

Omnia vincit labor — labor conquers all things — 
and labor was the law of Daddy's life. For the 
quarter of a century he was up at five o'clock in 
the morning, hustling, ever busy in useful toil 
until late at night. Work was his watchword, and 
to do good the purpose of his life. Being a most 
artistic caterer by training and occupation 
he, for many years, ran the most popular and 
inviting cafeteria in this city. Few people ever 
remained long in Sioux Falls without dining at 
"Daddy's place." All received from him a tender 
salutation; the graciousness of a warm, firm 

Nina 



"DADDY" DICKENSON CHARACTER 

hand-clasp and the benediction of liis kindly 
smile — and they remembered! 

There was a naturalness and an apparent self- 
negation about "Daddy" that drew all people 
unto him as the magnet draws the fragments of 
steel to it. To meet "Daddy" and to know him, 
to converse with him, was to accept him naturally 
as a relative; hence apparent strangers fell read- 
ily into the habit of calling him "Daddy Dick." 
He was more than an acquaintance; more than 
an associate ; more, even, than a friend to all who 
knew him well, and was readily given the tender 
salutation of "Daddy." Young men and young 
women, old ladies and old gentlemen, transients, 
travelers, show people, all who were without per- 
manent homes, on visiting the city, were drawn 
to him. They found in him a consoling, helping, 
sympathetic friend. He gave no criticism, spoke 
no harsh word, but always, with soft, even tones, 
praised and commended. Possessed of the soul 
of the poet, and the imagination of the orator, he 
dreamed dreams, painted word pictures, and often 
unconsciously spoke in parables. 

Perhaps few men ever lived who had more well- 
wishing friends made on short acquaintance than 
our own "Daddy Dick." These admirers were of 
all classes, and from all parts of the countiy. I 
have yet to find the first man or woman who, 
coming within the circle of his charming person- 
ality, was not impressed by his sympathy and 

Ten 



SKETCH AND FUNERAL ORATION 

gentleness, -which made every one feel better for 
having met him. There was no sham, no hypoc- 
ricy; but there was an openness and sympathy 
which did not admit of any doubt as to his gen- 
uineness and sincerity. 

One tiling I observed especially in his nature 
was the lack of enmity, animosity, and the spirit 
of revenge. He had been disappointed; he had 
been deceived; he had been mistreated; he had 
been maligned, yet in my close association with 
him, I never heard one bitter, unforgiving senti- 
ment pass his lips — which you ar^ always apt to 
hear in the case of little men. "Daddy Dick" 
was a big man — big physically, big mentally, big 
of heart and soul. The fruits of his life are large 
and good and wholesome, and, like the words of 
the holy man, shall never be forgotten. 

When called from the work of meeting the peo- 
ple in his bakeries and cafes — the work he loved — 
to the public office of city commissioner of Sioux 
Falls, he brought the same gentle, kindly, sym- 
pathetic spirit into all he said and did. He es- 
pecially loved the children of this city, and they 
knew, respected and loved him. As an official, he 
looked after their welfare and happiness, and pro- 
vided for them as far as he was able, youthful 
comforts, joys and pleasures. In the summer 
season he provided them with play grounds and 
in the winter thoir skating places were his special 
charge. The generosity of his heart was not lim- 

Eleven 



"DADDY" DICKENSON CHARACTER 

ited to men, women and children, but extended to 
birds and beasts and every living thing. When 
the snow was deep in winter, shutting off the food 
supply from the birds and beasts, he supplied 
them, and they all came regularly to eat from his 
kind and loving hands. 

While city commissioner he began the collection 
of funds to construct a public bath, particularly 
for the children. He was not spared to complete 
this useful work. The writer hopes that the pro- 
ject may not die with him, but that the city will 
take up the work and complete it ; and that it may 
stand as a memorial to our departed friend who 
so loved the children of the city. Let the per- 
fected work be known as the "Daddy Dickenson 
Baths." 

"Daddy" was greatly attached to his family — 
"Mother Dick" and four fine, big, splendid boys 
— were his constant thought and always his com- 
panions. Every moment from his work was spent 
with them. His family circle was a little de- 
mocracy where each one shared alike and all was 
held in common for the use of all. Whatever he 
had he held in trust for those he loved. He want- 
ed nothing and accepted nothing for himself 
which his family did not have — the ideal husband, 
father, citizen. 

To those whom he knew well and to those whom 
he loved, he told the tragic story of his early life 
with its struggles, trials and tribulations. He 

Twelve 




'MOTHER DICK" 



'And four fine, big, splendid boys. 
(See page twelve) 



SKETCH AND FUNERAL ORATION 

told me how his mother had, on many occasions, 
endured the greatest of privations in order that 
he might have a crust to sustain his life among 
the thousands of struggling, suffering poor of 
England's great metropolis. To him his mother 
was the greatest creature that had ever lived. 
"When he spoke of her he showed signs of great 
and sincere emotion. On one of these occasions, 
when I observed that he was so deeply touched at 
the mention of his mother, I recited for him, and 
afterwards many times repeated, the following 
stanza : 

"How fair you are, my mother I 

Ah, though 'tis many a year 

Since you were here. 

Still do I see your beauteous face, 

And with the glow 

Of your dark eyes cometh a grace 

Of long ago. 

So gentle, too, my mother! 

Just as of old, upon my brow, 

Like benedictions now, 

Falleth your dear hand's touch; 

And still, as then, 

A voice that glads me over-much 

Cometh again. 

My fair and gentle mother! 

How you have loved me, mother, 

I have not poiver to tell, 

Knowing fidl well 

That even in the rest above 

It is your ivill 

Thirteen 



"DADDY" DICKENSON CHARACTER 

To watch and guard me with your love, 

Loving me still. 

And, as of old, my mother, 

I am content to he a child. 

By mother's love beguiled 

From all these other charms; 

So to the last 

Within thy dear protecting arms 

Hold thou me fast, 

My guardian angel, mother." 

When I first came to this state, like all others, 
I was unconsciously drawn to this plain, honest 
man, and found in him a most enjoyable com- 
panion and a tried and trusted friend. He had not 
the advantages of a liberal education, yet liis soul 
thirsted and hungered for a knowledge of books 
and men. We spent many pleasant hours to- 
gether. We talked of liistory, science and philo- 
sophy; we read many interesting and instructive 
passages from the books. This was very much 
to his liking. He was possessed of a splendid 
memory and on hearing anything read that es- 
pecially interested him he could repeat it ver- 
batim. 

Because of his unusual ideas about religion, 
which I described in his funeral oration, we spoke 
together on this topic frequently. I quoted much 
from the scriptures to him. He most liked my 
quotations from the Jewish prophets, and es- 
pecially those from Isaiah. Hence, when I came 
to pronounce his funeral oration, I took for my 

Fourteen 



SKETCH AND FUNERAL ORATION 

text a portion of the seventh verse of the fifty- 
second chapter of that great prophet. 

"Daddy" greatly loved peace, and often ex- 
pressed to me the hope that war would ultimately 
pass from the earth. I thereupon suggested to 
him that his favorite prophet had spoken on the 
subject of war and had assured us that permanent 
peace would sometime come. I quoted to him 
from Isaiah as follows: 

"The day shall come when the 
sword shall be beaten into plow- 
shares, and the spear into prun- 
ing hooks." 

This expression, so in accord with the hope of 
his own heart, greatly pleased him. 

I remember on one occasion we were speaking 
of the Old and New Testaments. "Daddy" com- 
plained bitterly at what he called "the cruelties 
and sacrifices" recorded in the Old Testament. 
I then said unto him "Daddy, you are getting in 
the line of thought with your favorite prophet in 
that criticism." "Tell me of it," he said. I 
then quoted to him Isaiah 1 :11-17 : 

"And the Lord said: And to 
what purpose is the multitude of 
sacrificing unto me? I have 
enough of that; the fat of your 
rams revolts me; your incense is 
an abomination to me for your 
hands are full of blood; purify 
your thoughts; cease to do evil; 

Fifteen 



"DADDY" DICKENSON CHARACTER 

learn to do well, seek righteous- 
ness, and then come unto me." 

These sentences were much in harmony with 
"Daddy's" own thought and they pleased him so 
much, that he commited them to memory. 

The only disappointment I ever experienced in 
all my close association with him was over his 
views about the birth, mission and doctrines, of 
the "Manger Child." It was a real sorrow to me 
that one who had so much of the teachings of the 
Savior of the world in his heart and practiced 
unconsciously such large portions of the "Sermon 
on the Mount" in his daily life, should have held 
the particular views that dear "Daddy" did in 
connections with those teachings. But who am I, 
that I should attempt to criticise one so close to 
nature — possessed of such a great human, sympa- 
thetic heart and soul as my departed friend? 
Taken all in all, his life was one most worthy of 
emulation by all men. Few have ever lived who, 
taking their lives in the sum total, brought as 
much of joy and sunshine and as little of sorrow 
and sin into the devious and uneven ways of life 
as dear "Daddy Dick." 

I was not at home when "Daddy" died. I was 
out trying to persuade the people to make me 
governor of the Sunshine State, when the sad 
news came to me. Eemembering my promise, 
made to htm several years before his death, to 
pronounce his funeral oration, I cancelled all dates 

sixteen 



SKETCH AND FUNERAL ORATION 

and hurried home. But a few short hours were 
alloted to me to prepare for the sad occasion. In 
another part of this booklet appears, without 
change or modification, the thoughts which I pre- 
sented to his assembled friends. His was the 
largest funeral ever held in this city. It is esti- 
mated that over three thousand people were in 
attendance. All classes were represented— from 
the most humble citizen of the thoroughfares to 
the most influential and exclusive of our citizens. 
All stood with bowed heads in contemplation of 
the real merits of this kind and gentle man ; while 
innumerable little children in garments of white 
scattered blossoms and flowers all about. Stand- 
ing on the porch of his home, I spoke the thoughts 
which appear elsewhere to an immense concourse 
of people; and I aver that I never before saw so 
many persons assembled on any occasion in which 
each one appeared to feel that he had such an 
individual and personal grief, as on the sad event 
to which I refer. Each one seemed to recall some 
kindly word, some friendly act, which the de- 
ceased had done towards him or her personally 
and was anxious, with blossoms and flowers and 
tears to pay the obligation. 

It was a sad day in Sioux Falls. Not often 
does a whole city unite in heartfelt grief. The 
newsboys of the street, the widow in her weeds, 
the most wealthy, the most influential, the most 
powerful, and those who think themselves great— 

Seventeen 



"DADDY" DICKENSON CHARACTER 

all felt the cold, harsh hand of the grim reaper in 
that hour. It was not because a king or emperor 
was fallen ; nor because a president of the Eepub- 
lic was dead; nor yet was it because of the death 
of some great statesman who had portrayed the 
glories of the nation before listening senates or 
in the congress of a strange people — no! It was 
because there had been called from their midst a 
plain, humble citizen — who had answered in the 
affirmative that memorable question of Cain — 
Am I my brother's keeper? and had woven into 
the warp and woof of his daily life the true signi- 
ficance of that divine command — "Suffer the 
little children to come unto me, and forbid them 
not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven!" 

As but yesterday in life I knew him ; I honored 
him; I loved him. Today, sitting in my study, 
with my pen fast closing the written chapter of 
his life, I uncover in contemplation of the sweet- 
ness and tenderness of his heart and soul ; I mar- 
vel at the brave, calm, fearless manner in which 
he met his death, and my own troubled soul, in 
anguish, cries across the boundless space — 
O, "Daddy Dick!" from the bosom of thy God, 
in which thou reposeth, reveal unto me, 0, good 
genius — to the friend whom thou didst befriend 
— those eternal truths which conquer death, de- 
prive it of fear and terror and make it an ex- 
perience not to be dreaded but almost to be sought 
and to be loved! 

Eighteen 



Funeral Oration 



over 



a 



DADDY" DICKENSON 

April second, nineteen sixteen 



"How beautiful on the top of the 
mountain are the feet of him that 
hringeth glad tidings." 



T 



j±_d. 



^ 



HESE golden words of the prophet 
Isaiah, quoted frequently by me to 
my friend, with his approval, while 
his blood flowed warm and true, I 
shall make my text today, as we 
come to pay our tribute and our 
last respect to him wlio sleeps be- 
neath these blossoms and these flowers. 

In the i)hysical world we are taught that a 
pebble cast upon the ocean's bosom, stirs every 
atom of its water to the farthest shore. And this 
is true! So when a noble soul is called from the 
midst of a community the whole spiritual world 
is stirred to its remotest depths, and every heart 
is touched with pain. At such a time by the thus 
sudden taking-off, we are most forcibly reminded 
that in the midst of life we are indeed confronted 



Nineteen 



"DADDY" DICKENSON CHARACTER 

with an ever present and impending death. We 
only realize this uncertainty and appreciate the 
futility of wealth, station and power, and the utter 
inability of all things mortal to postpone the in- 
evitable, when our attention is called to these facts 
by the sudden and unexpected taking-off of some 
one in our. midst. Indeed, on such occasions, we 
appreciate in its fullest sense the significance of 
that divine instruction, in which we are told— 
"The hairs of our head are numbered, no man 
knoweth the day nor the hour." 

Today the spiritual ocean ebbs and flows, and 
we find our city stirred from center to circum- 
ference because a loved and revered citizen is 
taken from our sight. We, his friends, come like 
messengers on the top of the mountain bringing 
glad tidings and words of good cheer to those 
whom he loved ; and in return we hope to receive 
inspiration and encouragement as we consider his 
kind and gentle life. It was my privilege to be 
one of the thousands who loved "Daddy" Dick- 
enson in life, and I am among the multitudes that 
mourn his death. 

My love and friendship for him he knew, and I 
have had many proofs of his for me. There was 
no task I would not perform ; no request I would 
not have granted unto him. But of all the offices 
he might have laid upon me while yet he lived, 
there is none so difficult, so unpleasant and so 
sad as this. In obedience to a command which 

Twenty 




"DAODY" DICK AND FAMILY 

"Every moment from his work was spent with them." 
(See pai^e twelve ) 



SKETCH AND FUNERAL ORATION 

he gave to me and which I would not dare to dis- 
regard, I am come to speak to you of one of the 
truest, bravest, noblest souls that ever graced this 
planet, with life's holiest perfume, and in the un- 
expected moment, fled all too soon from our 
midst to brave the raging waters of the River 
Styx, and rise triimaphant on the further shore. 

Dear "Daddy Dick" has passed on. 

This home was on, as but yesterday, all life and 
light and happiness ; where love was priestess and 
peace was master hereabouts. Today tliis hearth- 
stone is darkened with deep black shadows that 
fall across the door. Grief and tears and sorrow 
are where peace and love and joy were. Wife and 
sons and friends are bended 'neatli an awful 
shock, and sorrowing stand with faces sad and 
melancholy and with hearts as lonely as a winter's 
night at sea. She, the Ufe and light and queen of 
this fair home, is sad in sadness bound, for he, the 
companion of her life and the father of her sons 
is gone, and all too soon. Still young in heart and 
strong in mind, with the light of love full sitting 
on his honest brow, with buoyant spirit, and with 
hope at highest tide, he left her at the noonday of 
his gentle life. 

Dear "Daddy Dick"! It seems to me but yes- 
terday since I met him and received the warm, 
firm grasp of his manly hand and felt the thrill 
of friendship that streamed from the lambent 
light of his soft and kindly eyes. But a few short 

Twenty-one 



"DADDY" DICKENSON CHARACTER 

hours lie has gone from us, yet every hour has 
left its scar upon our hearts. He is gone! We 
shall not look upon him more, yet through that 
strange medium known to the hearts and minds 
of friends, he seems to be with us still, and we 
seem to feel his gentle touch and hear his cheering 
word, with each quick passing hour. We called 
him "Daddy Dick" because we loved him, for he 
was loving and much beloved. And those who 
addressed him thus, received from him a tender 
salutation and a smile as sweet and sympathetic 
as the smile the loving mother casts upon her 
first born. 

R. W. Dickenson, the husband, father, citizen, 
patriot, has passed from out the light. I knew 
him in his strongest, noblest hour. As, standing 
by his bier today, I recall his priceless friendship, 
remember all his kind and gentle ways, and con- 
template his pure and useful life, if I were asked 
to name the source of all his greatness, I would 
place my hand upon his heart. 

If, on this sad occasion, I were asked to form a 
motto fitting to his kind and useful life, I would 
take it from the Latin maxim — Omnia vincit amor 
— Love conquers all things. 

The one consuming passion of his life was the 
love of coimtry and of man. Patriotism with him 
became a high and holy purpose, and to him there 
was no East, no West, no North, no South. He 
loved his country in a lump. In the depths of his 

Twenty-two 



SKETCH AND FUNERAL ORATION 

kind and gentle heart, there was room for every 
acre of his country's sunny soil; its every hill 
upon wliieli the morning breaks; its every vale 
that cradles the evening shadows ; its every gentle 
stream that laughs back the image of the sun. He 
was brave, industrious, courageous and patriotic. 
To him the Stars and Stripes were indeed, the 
sjTubol of freedom and of liberty. So strong was 
his passion for the banner of freedom that he 
alone, of all the private citizens of my acquaint- 
ance, kept ever floating from the door post of his 
home, the Stars and Stripes — etablematic of a 
bigger and better life unto all the sons and daugh- 
ters of men. 

It so happened that a few days before he was 
taken in his fatal illness, I discussed with him the 
probability of our country being drawn into the 
present world war. Turning to me he said: "If 
it comes, I will shoulder my gun and go, and I 
will take my four sons with me." "Daddy" was 
a man of peace. Cruel, hard, unseemly thoughts 
had no place in his heart and such never passed 
from his lips. But at the thought of an attack 
upon his country, his face flushed and his soft 
brown eyes glowed with the fires of patriotism. 
As I knew him, I do not doubt but that in th<' 
hour of his strength, he would have carried the 
flag that he so dearly loved into the very can- 
non's mouth and planted it on the ramparts of the 
enemy! Wliile we might have differed about the 

Twenty-three 



"DADDY" DICKENSON CHAEACTER 

name of his religion, or the kind of his creed, yet 
all who knew him agree that he was a thorough 
American from the ground up — from Alpha to 
Omega — world without end. He may have been 
a man without a party or creed, but his patriotism 
was such that as long as "Old Glory" blazed in 
God's blue firmament, he was never a man with- 
out a coimtry ! 

The deceased was born in London, in the popu- 
lous district of the world's greatest center of the 
oppressed poor. Bom among the lowly, in ex- 
treme poverty, he was reared in struggling in- 
dustry — fighting always for an existence — a 
chance to live. The first sights that met his boy- 
hood eyes were the sights of boys and girls fight- 
ing for bread. The first hands that seized his in 
companionship were the wrinkled and withered 
hands of want. The first stories that oppressed 
his young and tender heart were the stories of 
the suffering of God's children living from hand 
to mouth. He saw poverty. He heard poverty. 
He lived poverty. Strange to say these early 
privations left no scars upon his heart, no bitter- 
ness within his soul. He never raised his hands 
against authority; never faltered or complained 
during the long, hard years of struggle and priva- 
tion. He worked hard, and loved those for whom 
and with whom he toiled. He grew in power and 
influence and like splendid flowers blooming in 
dark places, gave off from his tender heart a 

Twenty-four 



SKETCH AND PUNER^VL ORATION 

sympathy and perfume that spread fragrance all 
about him until his coming was welcomed with 
smiles and his going was accompanied by tears. 

I have always thought it was the early im- 
pressions of the suffering and hunger and priva- 
tions of the poor that moulded the thought and 
actions of his later life. He never did a selfish 
act, he never turned his back upon the poor nor 
left unheeded the appealing cry of want. 

I have said that he loved man. Yes, he loved 
every living creature ! He fed the birds and they 
knew him! The fowl of the air and the beasts of 
the field came at his call. He understood them 
and they loved him. Not man nor beast nor bird 
went hungry from his door! If all the birds he 
fed with loving hands could gather at his bier 
today, with cords of affection fastened to their 
wings, they could bear his body to yonder eternal 
hill to rest in peace. If all the men and women, 
living and dead, to whom he spoke a tender word 
or for whom he did a kindly act, could gather at 
his side today to raise their voices in his praise, 
a mighty chorus would ring forth that would 
drown the ocean 's never ceasing roar. 

And so our friend was not strong and great in 
wordly goods and mortal things ; but in immortal 
things, like love and friendship, he was strong 
beyond the throne of kings, and rich beyond the 
dreams of Midas ! 

Dear "Daddy Dick"! Standing by your bier 

Twenty-five 



"DADDY" DICKENSON CHAEACTER 

today, I declare unto your multitude of friends 
that your life, taken all in all, was the incarnation 
of the Thirteenth Chapter of Paul's First Epistle 
to the Corinthians. How often did you take a 
fallen sister by the hand and bid her look to the 
future and behold the beauteous star of hope! 
How often did you put your arms around an 
erring brother in the ditch and inspire him to try 
again, while you guided his unsteady foosteps 
from out the pitfalls to the broad and glorious 
highway of a new and useful life ! I would rather 
have your gentleness and human sympathy and 
your all pervading love for your fellow men, than 
to own the most costly and precious crown that 
ever decorated the uneasy head of any king or 
queen ! 

At home he was truly a gentle, loving liege and 
lord ; honoring and honored ; lo\dng and much be- 
loved. Of his devoted wife, he made an equal 
partner, sharing all with her in confidence, suc- 
cess or failure, through the devious and imeven 
ways of life. So tender and so kind and so gentle 
was he to her that the flush of youth still lingers 
on her sweet and kindly face. Of his boys he 
made companions and shared with them their 
youthful joys and sorrows, while he tied them to 
him with the love of Ms noble heart, the tendrils 
of which were softer than silk, yet stronger than 
bands of shining steel. Today those splendid 
boys, directed by his example and inspired by the 

Twenty-six 



V 



SKETCH AND FUNERAL ORATION 

memory of his devoted soul, walk the paths of 
righteousness and imitate his rugged virtues in 
all the various marts and courts of men. 

This kindly, gentle citizen, died when all his 
faculties were strongest and most alert, and with 
his popularity at its highest tide; at a time when 
his heart, ever young, was fascinated by a cheered 
and cheering family circle, and when his friends 
were hoping for him higher and better things. At 
such a time he fell in illness, and, uncomplaining 
fought a noble fight. All that medical skill, and 
soft, kindly, tender hands could do, could not pre- 
vail. For days and weeks he trod alone the cold 
and cheerless brink between two eternities. Gen- 
tle, brave and patient, "he met his death as calmly 
as a star meets the morning sun." Folding his 
arms in apparent contentment, with a smile upon 
his lips, he passed into the "undiscovered coun- 
trj'." "What grander way to die! Certainly the 
mind of man cannot conceive, since all must go, 
a more pleasant method to pass from out the light 
and to surmount the raging waves in that glorious 
ship that sails the seas and harbors in a land 
where death is not, and aches and pains and tears 
are never more. 

And what is life? Those who stop to think and 
contemplate the struggles with a thoughtful mind, 
must all declare that it is naught! At best, life 
can be i)roclaimed but as a testing place where 
from out the souls of men, like dross from out the 

* Twenty-seven 



"DADDY" DICKENSON CHARACTER 

gold, is drawn all imperfections by the fires of 
trial and tribulation. So the sooner that all is 
past, the quicker has the test been made. The 
real, wise, thoughtful and scientific students of 
the world, have neither feared nor dreaded death. . 
And many of its noblest souls have courted it as 
but a gateway — a release from bondage here — 
into the freedom of an everlasting peace and love. 

Some called our friend an atheist. It is not so ! 
His religion as he lived it and expressed it was a 
spiritual pantheism. He recognized no personal 
God, but he saw his God in all about him and be- 
lieved that the spirit of man remained to influ- 
ence the lives of those who lived. To him God 
was in every living, blooming, flowering, breath- 
ing thing. He thought himself a brother to every 
living creature, and to birds and beasts and flow- 
ers and bees, he turned in kindness and in sym- 
pathy. How dare we criticise his faith ! Although 
unlearned in books, unschooled in philosophy he 
could come as near answering that ancient ques- 
tion — If a man die, shall he live again? — as the 
highest robed priest of the most authentic church. 

We do not believe that our good friend shall be 
destroyed or that he shall not live again. "We 
believe that over the battlements of Heaven he 
is leaning and watching us here below, while 
around him the angels gather and beckon on to 
the unspeakable peace of the eternal stars, the 
great chamber of the Lord's domain. Who dare 

Twenty-eight 




"DADDY" DICKENSON'S RESIDENCE 

It was from this porch that Mr. Egan delivered the funeral 

oration with all rooms full of people and an immense 

throng gathered on the lawn in front 



SKETCH AND FUNERAL ORATION 

think that nothing lies beyond the grave? The 
laws of nature and of nature's God say otherwise. 
The law of nature is eternal change and science 
shows that through all the cycles of endless time, 
not one atom of matter is lost, one molecule de- 
stroyed. Shall then the soul of man be lost, after 
a short visit, like a royal guest from the planet 
of the stars? If nature gives the prattling babe 
to bind the lives and hearts of man and wife, will 
it take the child from the mother's knee, or the 
heroic son from the battlefield without the prom- 
ise of another meeting where no parting comes, 
and battle is no more? When man and wife 
tread, for years and years the narrow way, in 
wedlock bound, 'till each is weary and heavy 
laden, each depending upon each, more and more 
as the journey ends, will they be parted without 
the hope of an eternal union, bright and glorious, 
when the storms of winter pass? Nature and 
nature's God make all things for good. In his 
mighty plan, all things are part. The blade of 
grass, the ocean's tide, the evening zephyr and 
the mountain stream, all serve his purpose. And 
man, imperial man, must live, and from the 
dreamless dust must rise I 

And so we know our friend is gone but not 
destroyed. And we shall miss him much. We 
shall count time from his departure as peas- 
ant's do from holy days; as maidens do from 
trysting hours, and in the silent stillness of the 

Twenty-nine 



"DADDY" DICKENSON CHARACTER 

night I will lift up my voice and with the poet 
say: 

"Thy day has come, not gone! 
Thy sun has risen, not set; 
Thy life is now beyond 
The reach of death or change, 
Not ended ■ — b^d begun. 
0, noble soul! 0, gentle heart! Hail and farewell." 

He is at peace! And now, with loving hands 
and streaming eyes, beneath a wilderness of 
flowers, we consign him to the hillside under the 
budding trees midst the flowers so soon to bloom; 
in the state of his adoption, and in the city where 
he spent his busy life and useful days, in our 
beautiful Woodlawn Cemetery, that silent and 
ever-increasing city of the dead, to rest in peace, 
and the world is sweeter, brighter and better for 
his having lived. 





016 086 090 n 



